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The 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 65th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 14 and 15 June 1997.
It was won by teammates Michele Alboreto, Stefan Johansson, and Tom Kristensen.[1]
The race saw the first of a record (as of 2024) 9 wins at Le Mans for Danish driver Kristensen, on what was his La Sarthe debut.
Pre-race
[edit]The Dunlop chicane was modified slightly in order to slow speeds again but also accommodate larger gravel traps as runoff area for the protection of motorcycle riders using the Bugatti Circuit. Frenchman Sébastien Enjolras lost his life in a pre-qualifying accident in his Welter Racing WR LM97-Peugeot.
Qualifying
[edit]The race’s governing body, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), decided that the starting order would be decided by the fastest LMP cars lining up in the odd positions of the grid, and the fastest GT1 cars lining up in the even positions.
Class leaders are in bold.
| Pos | No. | Team | Car | Class | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Joest Racing GmbH | TWR Porsche WSC-95 | LMP | 3:41.581 | 1 | |
| 2 | 25 | Porsche AG | Porsche 911 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:43.363 | +1.782 | 2 |
| 3 | 22 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan R390 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:45.324 | +3.743 | 4 |
| 4 | 42 | BMW Motorsport | McLaren F1 GTR | LMGT1 | 3:45.402 | +3.821 | 6 |
| 5 | 26 | Porsche AG | Porsche 911 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:45.490 | +3.909 | 8 |
| 6 | 27 | BMS Scuderia Italia | Porsche 911 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:45.913 | +4.332 | 10 |
| 7 | 21 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan R390 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:46.228 | +4.647 | 12 |
| 8 | 30 | Kremer Racing | Porsche 911 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:46.389 | +4.808 | 14 |
| 9 | 3 | Moretti Racing Inc. | Ferrari 333 SP | LMP | 3:46.431 | +4.850 | 3 |
| 10 | 44 | Team Lark McLaren | McLaren F1 GTR | LMGT1 | 3:47.108 | +5.527 | 16 |
| 11 | 32 | Roock Racing Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:47.314 | +5.733 | 18 |
| 12 | 33 | Schübel Engineering | Porsche 911 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:47.428 | +5.847 | 20 |
| 13 | 13 | Courage Compétition | Courage C41 | LMP | 3:47.662 | +6.081 | 5 |
| 14 | 23 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan R390 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:47.745 | +6.064 | 21 |
| 15 | 10 | Courage Compétition | Courage C36 | LMP | 3:48.011 | +6.430 | 7 |
| 16 | 43 | BMW Motorsport | McLaren F1 GTR | LMGT1 | 3:48.057 | +6.476 | 22 |
| 17 | 52 | Société DAMS | Panoz GTR-1 | LMGT1 | 3:48.123 | +6.542 | 23 |
| 18 | 29 | Scoiété JB Jabouille Bouresche | Porsche 911 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:48.341 | +6.760 | 24 |
| 19 | 41 | Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren | McLaren F1 GTR | LMGT1 | 3:48.369 | +6.788 | 25 |
| 20 | 49 | GT1 Lotus Racing | Lotus Elise GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:48.395 | + 6.814 | 26 |
| 21 | 8 | La Filiére Elf | Courage C36 | LMP | 3:48.651 | +7.070 | 9 |
| 22 | 39 | Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren | McLaren F1 GTR | LMGT1 | 3:48.665 | +7.084 | 27 |
| 23 | 40 | Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren | McLaren F1 GTR | LMGT1 | 3:49.330 | +7.749 | WD |
| 24 | 28 | Konrad Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:49.465 | +7.884 | 28 |
| 25 | 46 | Newcastle United Lister Storm | Lister Storm GTL | LMGT1 | 3:49.563 | +7.982 | 29 |
| 26 | 55 | David Price Racing | Panoz GTR-1 | LMGT1 | 3:49.699 | +8.118 | 30 |
| 27 | 45 | Newcastle United Lister Storm | Lister Storm GTL | LMGT1 | 3:50.398 | +8.817 | 31 |
| 28 | 54 | David Price Racing | Panoz GTR-1 | LMGT1 | 3:50.852 | +9.271 | 32 |
| 29 | 4 | Moretti Racing Inc. | Ferrari 333 SP | LMP | 3:51.092 | +9.511 | 11 |
| 30 | 50 | GT1 Lotus Racing | Lotus Elise GT1 | LMGT1 | 3:51.373 | +9.792 | DNQ |
| 31 | 9 | Courage Compétition | Courage C36 | LMP | 3:51.378 | +9.797 | 13 |
| 32 | 5 | Kremer Racing | Kremer K8 | LMP | 3:55.981 | +14.400 | 15 |
| 33 | 15 | Team TDR | Kudzu DLM-4 | LMP | 3:56.122 | +14.541 | 17 |
| 34 | 14 | Pacific Racing | BRM P301 | LMP | 3:56.734 | +15.153 | 19 |
| 35 | 6 | Kremer Racing | Kremer K8 | LMP | 3:56.929 | +15.348 | DNQ |
| 36 | 62 | Société Viper Team Oreca | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | LMGT2 | 4:04.589 | +23.008 | 33 |
| 37 | 61 | Société Viper Team Oreca | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | LMGT2 | 4:04.654 | +23.073 | 34 |
| 38 | 67 | Saleen/Allen Speedlab | Saleen Mustang | LMGT2 | 4:06.922 | +25.341 | 35 |
| 39 | 77 | Société Chereau | Porsche 993 GT2 | LMGT2 | 4:07.137 | +25.556 | 36 |
| 40 | 74 | Roock Racing | Porsche 993 GT2 | LMGT2 | 4:07.153 | +25.572 | 37 |
| 41 | 63 | Société Viper Team Oreca | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | LMGT2 | 4:08.081 | +26.500 | 38 |
| 42 | 66 | Saleen/Allen Speedlab | Saleen Mustang | LMGT2 | 4:09.801 | +28.220 | 39 |
| 43 | 60 | Agusta Racing Team | Callaway Corvette LM | LMGT2 | 4:10.048 | +28.467 | 40 |
| 44 | 84 | Stadler Motorsport | Porsche 993 GT2 | LMGT2 | 4:10.094 | +28.513 | 41 |
| 45 | 73 | Roock Racing | Porsche 993 GT2 | LMGT2 | 4:10.479 | +28.898 | 42 |
| 46 | 75 | Société Larbre Compétition | Porsche 993 GT2 | LMGT2 | 4:10.903 | +29.322 | 43 |
| 47 | 78 | Elf Haberthur Racing | Porsche 993 GT2 | LMGT2 | 4:11.134 | +29.553 | 44 |
| 48 | 80 | GT Racing Team AG | Porsche 993 GT2 | LMGT2 | 4:11.630 | +30.049 | 45 |
| 49 | 70 | Team Marcos | Marcos LM600 | LMGT2 | 4:11.904 | +30.323 | 46 |
| 50 | 79 | Konrad Motorsport | Porsche 993 GT2 | LMGT2 | 4:11.911 | +30.330 | 47 |
| 51 | 64 | Chamberlain Engineering | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | LMGT2 | 4:12.696 | +31.115 | 48 |
| 52 | 71 | Team Marcos | Marcos LM600 | LMGT2 | 4:22.904 | +41.323 | DNQ |
- The no. 40 Team Davidoff McLaren was withdrawn from the race after being damaged in a fire during Saturday morning warm-up.
Race
[edit]The 1997 race was won by the same chassis as had won in 1996, marking the second time that Joest had won back-to-back Le Mans with the same chassis (previously done in 1984 and 1985). They were able to beat factory teams in the GT1 and LMP classes from Porsche, BMW and Nissan. The TWR-Porsche was not the fastest on track during the race, but was able to take advantage of the leading Porsche 911 GT1's and McLaren F1 GTR's mechanical problems, allowing the Joest Racing machine to claim victory by one lap.
Official results
[edit]Class winners in bold.[2][3][4]
Statistics
[edit]- Pole Position - #7 Joest Racing - 3:41.581
- Fastest Lap - #7 Joest Racing - 3:45.068
- Distance - 4909.6 km
- Average Speed - 207 km/h
- Highest Trap Speed — Porsche GT1-Evo - 326 km/h (qualifying)
References
[edit]- ^ "Michele Alboreto wins the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "1997 24 Hours of Le Mans". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "1997 Le Mans 24 Hours". Motor Sport. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "24 Hours of Le Mans 1997 Le Mans 24h Classification". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 23 February 2024.